Exuviae

Today I returned to the Cannon River to look for emerging clubtails and search for exuviae. Unfortunately a thorough search was out of the question as I had less than a half hour, so I focused on the sandy spit of land upstream of the tributary Spring Creek.

Exuviae are the cast of exoskeletons left behind after dragonflies emerge. Because they are solid, they retain the exact shape of the full grown nymph, a kind of death mask for that previous stage of life. There is a hole in each exuvia located behind the head and between the wing pads where the adult dragonfly made its escape, literally crawling out of itself. The white threads often seen dangling from this exit hole are the tracheal tubes.

There are a number of good reasons to pay attention to exuviae. Presence of exuviae prove the existence of breeding populations. Daily monitoring and collection of exuviae can provide the date for emergence periods and population estimates. Often the exuviae can be identified to species and in some instances can provide records for very elusive adults.

Posted on June 7, 2017 03:49 AM by scottking scottking

Observations

Photos / Sounds

What

Cobra Clubtail (Gomphurus vastus)

Observer

scottking

Date

June 6, 2017 09:04 AM CDT

Description

Cobra Clubtail, teneral female
Cannon River
Cowling Arboretum
Northfield, Minnesota

Photos / Sounds

What

Cobra Clubtail (Gomphurus vastus)

Observer

scottking

Date

June 6, 2017 09:28 AM CDT

Description

Cobra Clubtail, male
Cannon River
Cowling Arboretum
Northfield, Minnesota

Photos / Sounds

What

Cobra Clubtail (Gomphurus vastus)

Observer

scottking

Date

June 6, 2017 09:28 AM CDT

Description

Cobra Clubtail. female
Cannon River
Cowling Arboretum
Northfield, Minnesota

Photos / Sounds

What

Cobra Clubtail (Gomphurus vastus)

Observer

scottking

Date

June 6, 2017 02:37 PM CDT

Description

Cobra Clubtail, exuvia
Cannon River
Cowling Arboretum
Northfield, Minnesota

Comments

Hi Scott! I'm currently in Voyageurs National Park and I've just spent the morning photographing emerging four spotted skimmers, chalk fronted corporals, and some other clubtail I haven't identified yet. Lots of exuviae here. Are you interested in any from this area or are you just concentrating on Rice and Dakota counties? If so, I will collect a sampling.

Posted by figaro almost 7 years ago

Janet, I'd be delighted to see some exuviae from up north. Enjoy your trip. And I'll look forward to seeing the photos of the emerging dragonflies.

Posted by scottking almost 7 years ago

Thanks for helping to educate folks about exuviae and dragonflies.

Posted by toddfolsom almost 7 years ago

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